"No, that's not right..."
"I haven't lost any of my strength. Then why?" Madara pondered, a sudden realization striking him like a bolt of lightning.
"No!"
"It's not that I've grown weaker, this brat's power has suddenly exploded!" Madara gritted his teeth. Naruto, as he was now, could actually shake him even in his Six Paths Mode.
Meanwhile, within his inner world, Naruto called out to the beast inside him. "Son, lend me your chakra!"
"You got it!" The Four-Tails, Son Goku, instantly transferred his chakra to Naruto.
In that exact moment, a colossal, crimson Rasenshuriken manifested in Naruto's right hand, crackling with the profound power of the Six Paths.
"Not good!" Madara instantly surged backward, opening up the distance between them.
"Sage Art: Lava Release Rasenshuriken!"
Naruto hurled the massive Rasenshuriken straight at Madara. Reacting with godlike reflexes, Madara spun his Rinnegan and roared, "Limbo!"
But a heartbeat later, Madara's eyes widened in sheer disbelief. Naruto had completely evaded the invisible strike of Limbo: Border Jail. How is this possible?!
Did that Nine-Tails brat seriously just dodge Limbo: Border Jail? Impossible! While Madara was still reeling from the shock, Naruto's right hand whipped forward, driving the attack straight into Madara's torso.
The Sage Art: Lava Release Rasenshuriken detonated violently. Imbued with the power of the Six Paths, the sheer force of the technique left Madara utterly horrified.
Crack!
The stump of the God Tree was instantly severed by the blast, and Madara was blasted directly toward the fallen trunk.
As he staggered to his feet, a sudden, echoing voice resonated near his ear.
"Absorb me quickly..."
"Who's there?!" Madara demanded, his eyes widening in shock.
"Absorb the God Tree... absorb the Ten-Tails... absorb everything..."
At that crucial moment, the God Tree blossomed. Without a second thought, Madara leaped in front of the tree and extended his hand.
In an unbelievable display of power, he absorbed the entirety of the God Tree directly into his own body, assimilating everything into himself.
On the other side of the battlefield, Sasuke walked up to Tobirama, who was pinned ruthlessly to the ground. He intended to utilize Tobirama's Flying Raijin Technique to close the distance to Naruto instantly.
Sasuke began pulling the black receivers out of Tobirama's body.
He's completely unaffected by touching Madara's rods... What on earth happened to this kid when he was on the brink of death? Tobirama thought to himself, deeply intrigued.
"Can you teleport us, Second Hokage?" Sasuke asked.
Tobirama glanced at the Rinnegan spinning in Sasuke's left eye and nodded subtly.
"I see. Yes, of course. My marking is currently linked with the Fourth's."
"However, I apologize. With my current strength, I can only send one person."
"That's enough. I'm all that's needed," Sasuke replied flatly.
A short distance away, Orochimaru watched Sasuke with a look of satisfaction. He could feel that the wind surrounding Sasuke was blowing stronger than ever before. Yet, the person he had pinned his highest hopes on had just perished.
"Sasuke, I once wanted to see with my own eyes which way your wind would blow. But now, I see clearly. It seems that from here on out, the rest of us will only hold you back."
Sasuke gave a curt nod and stepped closer to Tobirama.
Meanwhile, Naruto arrived at the side of Gaara and Kakashi.
"Are you guys alright...?"
"We're fine," Kakashi said, shaking his head.
"I'm sorry... I couldn't save Kanon or Bushy-Brow Sensei."
As he spoke, Naruto placed his hand over the chest of the deceased Rock Lee.
A surge of pure Six Paths Yang Power coursed from his palm. Miraculously, Lee's destroyed heart was completely restored, and it began to thud with a sudden, vibrant rhythm.
"You... you actually saved Lee?!" Gaara gasped in utter shock.
"I feel like... with the way I am right now, I can do just about anything."
Naruto stood up and turned to the three of them. "Gaara, Kakashi-sensei, Dad, take care of Lee."
Naruto turned to leave, but before he could take a step, Gaara called out to him. "Naruto..."
Naruto paused and looked back, confused.
"Once you become the Hokage... let's have a drink together."
"Yeah!" Naruto nodded, before sprinting off toward Madara.
"Naruto, huh?" Kakashi smiled warmly as he watched Naruto's retreating figure. Obito... you actually succeeded.
...
Kamui Dimension.
Obito was half-kneeling on the ground, panting heavily. Sakura stood directly in front of him, her voice trembling slightly as she spoke.
"You've hurt and killed so many of our enemies... who were my comrades."
"So, truth be told, I really don't want to say this, but..."
Sakura bowed deeply to Obito. "Just this once, I'm going to make an exception and view you as a comrade. Thank you... for saving Naruto."
Obito looked up at Sakura, his voice incredibly weak. "I have one final request."
"You don't have to view it as a request from a comrade. Just treat me as an enemy."
…
The Battlefield.
Near the God Tree, Madara stood beside the cold, lifeless body of Kanon. Tears welled up in his eyes, spilling over and tracing down his cheeks onto her form.
"After all this time... did it still end in failure?"
"Ah... my child..."
Madara wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. "I wanted so badly to tell you... that the God Tree itself is the true answer."
"Now is the moment to bring everything together as one... Kanon, our dream is on the verge of completion."
"Wake up, please!" Madara roared, an infinite sorrow washing over his heart. This pain was far more excruciating than when he had lost Izuna all those years ago.
In the distance, Naruto spotted Madara. He picked up Minato's Kunai and clamped it firmly between his teeth.
It must be because I met the Sage of Six Paths and received his power, Naruto thought to himself. Even from here, I can clearly feel half of the Sage's power.
Naruto glared at Madara and shouted furiously, "Get the hell away from my best friend, you bastard!"
Madara noticed Naruto watching him and burst into a maniacal laugh.
"Best friend? Hahaha!"
"Do you still not comprehend the gap between us? You cannot defeat me!"
"I have attained absolute immortality! I have achieved eternity!"
Naruto calmly fastened his headband tightly around his forehead and yelled back at Madara, "You idiot! I'm not the only one who's going to beat you!"
Suddenly, Madara's expression shifted drastically. The Naruto standing before him now was entirely different from his previous Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
Naruto was now clad in a black undergarment, enveloped in a magnificent golden chakra cloak. He held a black staff formed from a Truth-Seeking Ball, while nine Truth-Seeking Balls floated serenely behind his back.
On the other side, Sasuke materialized, standing with his hands on his hips.
"We're going to do this together!"
"We're bringing you down, Madara!" Sasuke stated coldly.
Within Sasuke's left eye, the six tomoe of his Rinnegan spun with lethal precision.
Madara stared down at Naruto and Sasuke, his expression returning to a cold calm. Now that he had fully entered his own Six Paths Mode, he possessed no fear of either of them.
"One has acquired Six Paths Senjutsu, while the other has awakened the Rinnegan, I see."
"But I possess both of these powers! Right now, I am the strongest entity in existence!"
"This will be the final battle, my power against yours!"
"Let us settle once and for all whose power reigns supreme!"
Madara swiftly wove a set of hand signs and directed his staff toward Naruto and Sasuke.
"Sage Art: Yin Release Lightning Dispatch!"
In an instant, a torrent of violent purple lightning erupted from Madara's staff. It was a catastrophic technique designed to obliterate everything in its path, anyone beneath the Six Paths level would meet certain death if struck.
Sasuke's Rinnegan flickered slightly, while Naruto hurled his Truth-Seeking Ball staff forward, successfully intercepting Madara's Sage Art.
The purple lightning blanketed the entire area, each stray bolt carving out massive, hundred-meter-long craters in the earth.
However, what truly shocked Madara wasn't Naruto blocking his attack, it was Sasuke, Kanon's older brother!
Sasuke had instantaneously vanished, completely evading the impact zone of the lightning. How is that possible? Is this the ocular jutsu of his Rinnegan?
Having bypassed the strike, Sasuke covered his left eye, marveling internally at the newly awakened power residing within it.
This left eye... I get it now, Sasuke thought.
Still maintaining the flow of the Yin Release Lightning Dispatch, Madara snapped his gaze toward Sasuke.
That distance... Body Flicker? No, it wasn't physical movement!
At that exact microsecond, Naruto lunged forward, swinging his Truth-Seeking Ball staff directly at Madara.
"Don't look away!"
"Limbo!"
Crack! In that instant, both Naruto and Sasuke were taken aback.
Sasuke's Rinnegan could clearly see through the Limbo clone, while Naruto's sensory abilities allowed him to perfectly perceive its presence.
"What is that?!" Sasuke muttered in surprise, staring at the invisible force blocking Naruto's strike.
Naruto gritted his teeth, realizing just how troublesome this opponent was going to be.
"I'm not done yet!" Naruto prepared to unleash his Six Paths power, but Madara gave him no breathing room. He exhaled sharply, spitting out a thin, concentrated beam of purple light.
"Sage Art: Storm Release Light Fang!"
Naruto dodged instantly, but his Truth-Seeking Ball staff was cleanly severed in a split second.
Naruto was forced to twist his body horizontally mid-air to barely evade the lethal follow-up.
That sensation is back... Just as the thought crossed Naruto's mind, Sasuke made his move.
He drew his Kusanagi sword and hurled it straight toward Naruto's location.
"Is it over there?!"
However, the Kusanagi sword sliced horizontally through the empty air, hitting nothing.
"How is that possible? It missed!"
Before Naruto could recover, he was struck squarely by a punch from the invisible Limbo clone, sending him hurtling backward as he plowed a deep trench into the earth.
————
NOTE: This fic has been completely translated. If you want to read the whole story head over to my p-atre-on: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]